Ice maker and refrigerator having the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are an ice maker and a refrigerator having the same. The ice maker includes an ice making tray including a plurality of ice making cells, a driving unit to rotate the ice making tray, a plurality of blades corresponding to the plurality of ice making cells to block the ice cubes made in the ice making cells and thus twist the ice making tray while removing the ice cubes from the ice making cells when the ice making tray is rotated, and a protrusion formed on the ice making tray to assist the removal of the ice cubes from the ice making cells. The ice maker removes the ice cubes from the ice making tray by a twisting-type deicing process using the plurality of blades and the protrusion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2009-0056482, filed on Jun. 24, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to an ice maker, which has an improved deicingperformance and applies both indirect refrigeration-type and directrefrigeration-type cooling methods, and a refrigerator having the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, storage chambers to store various foods in an optimal statefor a long time are provided in a refrigerator. The storage chambersinclude a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, which aredivided from each other. Recently, a refrigerator, in which an ice makerto make ice cubes is provided in a storage chamber, has been developed.

Ice makers are divided into an indirect refrigeration-type ice maker,which makes ice cubes using cool air circulating in a freezing chamber,and a direct refrigeration-type ice maker, which makes ice cubes using arefrigerant pipe of a refrigerating cycle. Each of these ice makersincludes an ice making tray containing water to make ice cubes, anejector to remove the ice cubes from the ice making tray, and a storagecontainer to store the ice cubes removed by the ejector.

Deicing methods in the ice maker having the above structure are dividedinto a heating type and a twisting type. Here, in the heating typedeicing method, a heater installed at the lower end of the ice makingtray made of aluminum heats the ice making tray and thus melts thesurfaces of ice cubes, and then the ejector is rotated and thus removesthe ice cubes from the ice making tray. In the twisting type deicingmethod, the ice making tray made of plastic is twisted and thus removesice cubes from the ice making tray.

However, the heating type deicing method uses the high-capacity heaterin a deicing process, and thus has a high power consumption rate andcauses a rise in the temperature of an ice making chamber or a storagechamber.

Further, the twisting type deicing method uses the ice making tray madeof plastic, and thus causes a difficulty in application to an ice makerincluding an ice making tray made of aluminum.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is one aspect to provide an ice maker, which has animproved deicing performance and applies both indirectrefrigeration-type and direct refrigeration-type cooling methods, and arefrigerator having the same.

Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows and, in part, will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing arefrigerator including a plurality of storage chambers, and an ice makerdisposed in one of the storage chambers to make ice cubes, and the icemaker includes an ice making tray including a plurality of ice makingcells to receive water to make the ice cubes, a driving unit to rotatethe ice making tray, a plurality of blades corresponding to the icemaking cells to remove the ice cubes from the ice making cells, and aprotrusion formed on the ice making tray to assist the removal of theice cubes from the ice making cells.

The protrusion may be protruded inwardly from the end of one side of theice making tray.

The protrusion may have at least one of a pyramidal shape, a columnarshape, and a hemispherical shape.

The plurality of blades may block the ice cubes made in the ice makingcells and thus twist the ice making tray while removing the ice cubesfrom the ice making cells when the ice making tray is rotated.

At least one of the plurality of blades may have a different length. Asthe plurality of blades becomes distant from the driving unit, theplurality of blades may have a longer length. Blades, corresponding tothe ice making cells formed at both ends of the ice making tray, mayhave a shorter length than those of other blades.

At least one of the plurality of blades may be formed at a differentangle from the remaining blades. The ice maker may further include acooling unit to freeze water supplied to the ice making tray. Thecooling unit may include a heat exchanger and an air blower unit tosupply cool air to the ice maker.

The cooling unit may include an ice making pipe, along which arefrigerant flows so as to freeze water supplied to the ice making cellsdirectly into the ice cubes, and a cooling case to accommodate the icemaking pipe.

The plurality of blades may be disposed above the ice making tray, andbe fixed to the cooling case.

At least one part of the cooling case may be disposed in the ice makingcells.

The foregoing and/or other aspects may be achieved by providing an icemaker of a refrigerator including an ice making tray including aplurality of ice making cells, to which water is supplied, a drivingunit to rotate the ice making tray, a cooling unit to convert the watersupplied to the ice making tray into ice cubes, a plurality of bladesfixed to the cooling unit and corresponding to the ice making cells toremove the ice cubes from the ice making cells when the ice making trayis rotated, and a protrusion to assist the removal of the ice cubes fromthe ice making cells formed at the upper end of one side of each of therespective ice making cells.

The protrusion may be protruded inwardly from the end of one side of theice making tray. The protrusion may have at least one of a pyramidalshape, a columnar shape, and a hemispherical shape. The plurality ofblades may block the ice cubes made in the ice making cells and thustwist the ice making tray while removing the ice cubes from the icemaking cells when the ice making tray is rotated.

The cooling unit may include a heat exchanger and an air blower unit tosupply cool air to the ice maker. The cooling unit may include an icemaking pipe, along which a refrigerant flows so as to freeze watersupplied to the ice making cells directly into the ice cubes, and acooling case to accommodate the ice making pipe.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an icemaker of a refrigerator including an ice making tray including aplurality of ice making cells, to which water is supplied, a drivingunit to rotate the ice making tray, a cooling unit to convert watersupplied to the ice making tray into ice cubes, an ejector fixed to oneside surface of the cooling unit corresponding to the ice making cells,and a protrusion formed at the upper end of one side of each of therespective ice making cells of the ice making tray, wherein theprotrusion is formed at a side of each of the respective ice makingcells opposite another side of each of the respective ice making cells,where the ejector is disposed.

The protrusion may be protruded inwardly from the end of one side of theice making tray. The protrusion may have at least one of a pyramidalshape, a columnar shape, and a hemispherical shape. The plurality ofblades may block the ice cubes made in the ice making cells and thustwist the ice making tray while removing the ice cubes from the icemaking cells when the ice making tray is rotated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the overall appearance of arefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal-sectional view of a freezing chamber of therefrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an ice maker of therefrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views illustrating ejectors of the icemaker of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an ice making tray shown in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are partially enlarged views of FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 8A to 8C are views illustrating a deicing process of the ice makerof the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator includes a main body 10forming the external appearance of the refrigerator, and storagechambers are formed in the main body 10. The storage chambers aredivided from each other by a diaphragm 15, and the left storage chamberserves as a freezing chamber 30 and the right storage chamber serves asa refrigerating chamber 20.

A heat exchanger 34 and an air blower fan 35, which generate cool airand supply the cool air to each of the refrigerating chamber 20 and thefreezing chamber 30, are installed at the rear portion of each of therefrigerating chamber 20 and the freezing chamber 30. Further, amachinery chamber 36, in which a compressor and a condenser to compressa refrigerant, condense the compressed refrigerant, and transmit thecondensed refrigerant to the heat exchanger 34 are installed, isprovided at the lower region of the rear portion of the main body 10.

Doors 21 and 31 to selectively open and close the insides of therefrigerating chamber 20 and the freezing chamber 30 are respectivelyinstalled at the front surfaces of the refrigerating chamber 20 and thefreezing chamber 30. Plural guards 22 and 32 to receive food areinstalled in multiple stages on the rear surfaces of the respectivedoors 21 and 31, and reception members 23 and 33, such as plural racksand drawers, are installed in the refrigerating chamber 20 and thefreezing chamber 30. Shelves 11, 12 are also installed in therefrigerating chamber 21 and freezing chamber, respectively.

The refrigerator further includes an ice maker 100 installed in thefreezing chamber 30 to make ice cubes, an ice bank 40 to store the icecubes made by the ice maker 100, and a dispenser 50 to discharge the icecubes from the ice bank 40 to the front surface of the door 31. Althoughthe term ice ‘cubes’ is used, the shape of the ice is not necessarilycubical. The ice bank 40 and the dispenser 50 are the same as thosewhich are conventionally used and a detailed description thereof will beomitted. Recently, a refrigerator having an ice making chamber providedin a refrigerating chamber has been placed on the market, and theembodiment may be applied to the ice making chamber of such arefrigerator.

The ice maker 100 includes a support frame 110 installed at the upperportion of the inside of the freezing chamber 30. As shown in FIG. 3, anice making tray 120, a driving unit 130 to rotate the ice making tray120, a cooling unit 140 to make ice cubes in the ice making tray 120,and an ejector 150 to remove the ice cubes from the ice making tray 120are mounted on the support frame 110.

First, plural ice making cells 121 having a semicircular shape, whichcontain water supplied from the outside through a water supply pipe tomake ice cubes, are formed on the ice making tray 120. In order to twistthe ice making tray 120 to remove the ice cubes from the respective icemaking cells 120, the ice making tray 120 made of plastic is moreeffective. Further, a protrusion 123 to assist the removal of the ice isformed on one side of the upper end of the ice making tray 120, and adetailed description thereof will be given later.

The driving unit 130 includes a driving motor 131 to rotate the icemaking tray 120. The driving unit 130 is journalled to the ice makingtray 120, as shown in FIG. 3, and serves to rotate the ice making tray120 in the support frame 110 according to the rotation of the drivingmotor 131. The driving unit 130 further includes an ice fullness sensinglever 133 to sense whether or not the ice bank 40 is completely filledwith ice cubes.

The cooling unit 140 includes an ice making pipe 143 extended from theheat exchanger 34 such that a refrigerant flows along the ice makingpipe 143, and a cooling case 141 to accommodate the ice making pipe 143.The ice making pipe 143, along which the refrigerant flows, as describedabove, serves to convert water supplied to the ice making tray 120directly into ice cubes. The lower end of the cooling case 141, as shownin FIG. 3, is formed in a semicircular shape, and a designated part ofthe lower end of the cooling case 141 is disposed in the respective icemaking cells 121 of the ice making tray 120.

The ejector 150, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a support member 151mounted on one side of the cooling case 141, and plural blades 153extended from the support member 151 to correspond to the respective icemaking cells 121. The plural blades 153 serve to block the ice cubesmade in the respective ice making cells 121 and thus remove the icecubes from the respective ice making cells 121, when the ice making tray120 is rotated.

In order to twist the ice making tray 120 when the ice making tray 120is rotated, the plural blades 153 are extended from the support member151 such that at least one of the plural blades 153 has a differentlength. As the blades 153 become distant from the driving unit 130, theblades 153 have a longer length. That is, in the embodiment, when theice making tray 120 is rotated, the ice cubes made in the respective icemaking cells 121 are sequentially blocked by the blades 153, which aredistant from the driving unit 130, thereby twisting the ice making tray120 and thus removing the ice cubes from the ice making cells 121.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the blades 153 a, corresponding to the icemaking cells 121 formed at both ends of the ice making tray 120, amongthe plural blades 153 may have a shorter length than those of otherblades 153. An ice making speed of the ice making cells 121 formed atboth ends of the ice making tray 120 is slower than that at other icemaking cells 121. Therefore, in order to uniformly maintain the icemaking speed of the respective ice making cells 121, this structureallows the ice making cells 121 formed at both ends of the ice makingtray 120 to make an ice cube having a smaller size than that of otherice making cells 121. For this reason, the ice making cells 121 formedat both ends of the ice making tray 120 may have a smaller size thanthat of other ice making cells 121.

Further, in order to twist the ice making tray 120 when the ice makingtray 120 is rotated, secondary blades 153′ may be formed at differentangles, as shown in FIG. 5.

Ice cubes made in the respective ice making cells 121 are attached tothe lower end of the cooling case 141. Therefore, when the ice cubesmade in the respective ice making cells 121 are removed from the icemaking cells 121, the ice cubes are separated from the lower end of thecooling case 141 as well as from the ice making cells 121.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, the protrusion 123 to separate theice cubes from the lower end of the cooling case 141 is formed on theice making tray 120. The protrusion 123 is protruded from one side ofthe upper end of the ice making tray 120 toward the center of the icemaking tray 120, and although the ice cubes 140 are not separated fromthe cooling unit 140 at an initial stage of the deicing process, the icecubes 140 are separated from the cooling unit 140 by the protrusion 123when the ice making tray 120 is rotated by more than a designated angle.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the protrusion 123 a, 123 b, or 123c may be formed in a pyramidal shape, a columnar shape, or ahemispherical shape. Here, the protrusion 123 a, 123 b, or 123 c isprotruded by a designated length so that the ice cubes are not rotatedtogether with the rotation of the ice making tray 120 if the ice cubesreceive more than a specific load when the ice making tray 120 isrotated.

Although this embodiment exemplarily describes the directrefrigeration-type ice maker, in which ice cubes are made in the icemaking tray 120 by the cooling unit 140 provided with the ice makingpipe 143, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that an indirectrefrigeration-type ice maker, in which ice cubes are made in the icemaking tray 120 by cool air generated by the heat exchanger 34 and theair blower fan 35, may be employed. Of course, in case of the indirectrefrigeration-type ice maker, the protrusion 123 need not be formed onthe ice making tray 120.

Hereinafter, the operation and effects of the refrigerator in accordancewith the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

In order to make ice cubes, water is supplied to the respective icemaking cells 121 of the ice making tray 120, as shown in FIG. 8A. Afterwater is supplied to the ice making cells 121, a refrigerant flows alongthe ice making pipe 143 of the cooling unit 140, and when a designatedtime has elapsed, water in the respective ice making cells 121 is frozenand thus converted into ice cubes having a designated size.

After the ice cubes are made in the ice making tray 120, the ice cubesare removed from the ice making tray 120 and are dropped into the icebank 40. Now, a deicing process of the ice making tray 120 will bedescribed in detail. First, as shown in FIG. 8B, the ice making pipe 143is controlled such that the refrigerant does not flow along the icemaking pipe 143, and the ice making tray 120 is rotated by operating thedriving unit 130. When the ice making tray 120 is rotated, the ice cubesformed in the respective ice making cells 121 are also rotated.

If the ice making tray 120 is rotated by more than a designated angle,the ice cubes are blocked by the fixed plural blades 153 above the icemaking tray 120. Here, the plural blades 153 are configured such that asthe blades 153 become distant from the driving unit 130, the blades 153have a longer length. Thereby, the ice cubes distant from the drivingunit 130 sequentially contact the blades 153. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8C,when the ice making tray 120 is rotated, the ice making tray 120 istwisted by the plural blades 153, thereby separating the ice cubes fromthe ice making cells 121.

Further, during the deicing process of the ice making cells 121, the icecubes are easily separated from the cooling unit 140 as well as from theice making cells 121 so as to improve a deicing performance. Therefore,in this embodiment, when the ice making tray 120 is rotated by more thana designated angle, the ice cubes are separated from the cooling unit140, i.e., the lower end of the cooling case 141, by the protrusion 123formed on the ice making tray 120.

Accordingly, since the ice cubes are removed from the ice making tray120 and the cooling unit 140 by the plural blades 153 and the protrusion123 of the ice making tray 120, this embodiment improves a deicingperformance as compared with a heating-type deicing process. Moreover,in case that the deicing process of this embodiment is used togetherwith the heating-type deicing process, deicing may be more effectivelyachieved.

Further, although this embodiment describes the twisting-type deicingprocess using the plural blades 153, the embodiment may be applied toboth a direct refrigeration-type ice maker using a cooling unit and anindirect refrigeration-type ice maker using cool air.

As is apparent from the above description, in an ice maker and arefrigerator having the same in accordance with one embodiment, atwisting-type deicing process using plural blades when an ice makingtray is rotated is applied and thus a deicing performance is improved,and both a direct refrigeration-type ice maker using a cooling unit andan indirect refrigeration-type ice maker using cool air are applied.

Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would beappreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made inthese embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit ofthe embodiments, the scope of which is defined in the claims and theirequivalents.

1. A refrigerator comprising: a plurality of storage chambers; and anice maker disposed in one of the storage chambers to make ice cubes, theice maker including: an ice making tray including a plurality of icemaking cells to receive water to make the ice cubes; a driving unit torotate the ice making tray; a plurality of blades corresponding to theice making cells to remove the ice cubes from the ice making cells; anda protrusion formed on the ice making tray to assist the removal of theice cubes from the ice making cells.
 2. The refrigerator according toclaim 1, wherein the protrusion is protruded inwardly from an end of oneside of the ice making tray.
 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2,wherein the protrusion has at least one of a pyramidal shape, a columnarshape, and a hemispherical shape.
 4. The refrigerator according to claim1, wherein the plurality of blades blocks the ice cubes made in the icemaking cells and thus twists the ice making tray while removing the icecubes from the ice making cells when the ice making tray is rotated. 5.The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein at least one of theplurality of blades has a different length.
 6. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 5, wherein respective lengths of the blades increasewith distance from the driving unit.
 7. The refrigerator according toclaim 1, wherein blades, corresponding to the ice making cells formed atboth ends of the ice making tray have a shorter length than other onesof the blades.
 8. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein atleast one of the plurality of blades is circumferentially offset fromthe other blades.
 9. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein theice maker further includes a cooling unit to freeze the water suppliedto the ice making tray.
 10. The refrigerator according to claim 9,wherein the cooling unit includes a heat exchanger and an air blowerunit to supply cool air to the ice maker.
 11. The refrigerator accordingto claim 9, wherein the cooling unit includes an ice making pipe, alongwhich a refrigerant flows to thereby freeze the water supplied to theice making cells directly into the ice cubes, and a cooling case toaccommodate the ice making pipe.
 12. The refrigerator according to claim11, wherein the plurality of blades is disposed above the ice makingtray, and is fixed to the cooling case.
 13. The refrigerator accordingto claim 11, wherein at least one part of the cooling case is disposedin the ice making cells.
 14. An ice maker of a refrigerator, comprising:an ice making tray including a plurality of ice making cells, to whichwater is supplied; a driving unit to rotate the ice making tray; acooling unit to convert the water supplied to the ice making tray intoice cubes; a plurality of blades fixed to the cooling unit andcorresponding to the ice making cells to remove the ice cubes from theice making cells when the ice making tray is rotated; and a protrusionto assist the removal of the ice cubes from the ice making cells formedat the upper end of one side of each of the respective ice making cells.15. The ice maker according to claim 14, wherein the protrusion isprotruded inwardly from the end of one side of the ice making tray. 16.The ice maker according to claim 15, wherein the protrusion has at leastone of a pyramidal shape, a columnar shape, and a hemispherical shape.17. The ice maker according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of bladesblocks the ice cubes made in the ice making cells and thus twists theice making tray while removing the ice cubes from the ice making cellswhen the ice making tray is rotated.
 18. The ice maker according toclaim 14, wherein the cooling unit includes a heat exchanger and an airblower unit to supply cool air to the ice maker.
 19. The ice makeraccording to claim 14, wherein the cooling unit includes an ice makingpipe, along which a refrigerant flows to thereby freeze the watersupplied to the ice making cells directly into the ice cubes, and acooling case to accommodate the ice making pipe.
 20. An ice maker of arefrigerator, comprising: an ice making tray including a plurality ofice making cells, to which water is supplied; a driving unit to rotatethe ice making tray; a cooling unit to convert water supplied to the icemaking tray into ice cubes; an ejector fixed to one side surface of thecooling unit corresponding to the ice making cells; and a protrusionformed at the upper end of one side of each of the respective ice makingcells of the ice making tray, wherein the protrusion is formed at a sideof each of the respective ice making cells opposite another side of eachof the respective ice making cells, where the ejector is disposed. 21.The ice maker according to claim 20, wherein the protrusion is protrudedinwardly from the end of one side of the ice making tray.
 22. The icemaker according to claim 20, wherein the protrusion has at least one ofa pyramidal shape, a columnar shape, and a hemispherical shape.
 23. Theice maker according to claim 20, wherein the plurality of blades blocksthe ice cubes made in the ice making cells and thus twists the icemaking tray while removing the ice cubes from the ice making cells whenthe ice making tray is rotated.